Owning property and land isn't as safe as an investment as you guys make it seem. My coworker own land in Detroit, but had to get it appraised and the existing property on it demolished in order to own it. She's considering selling at a loss, but is holding out because JP Morgan and guys like Dan Gilbert are pouring a lot of money into the city.
It is if its not in a dying city.
I can give you a dozen places off the top of my head that make sense to invest in now, made sense to invest in a decade ago, and will continue to have high property values in the future: San Jose, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Dallas, NYC, Atlanta, Austin, Seattle, DC and the surrounding White suburbs (PG County and the like haven't grown back at the same rate), Raleigh, Boston (near the Harvard campus, constant year round renters).
Detroit has a shrinking population.